The Israeli leader said on Thursday that Osama bin Laden's organization had established a presence in Palestinian-ruled areas of Gaza and in Lebanon, aiming to attack Israel. He gave no further details in his comments at an Israeli media lunch.

"It is a big, big, big lie to cover (Sharon's) attacks and his crimes against our people everywhere," Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told reporters at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"There are certain elements who were instructed by the Mossad to form a cell under the name of Al Qaeda in the Gaza Strip in order to justify the assault and the military campaigns of the Israeli occupation army against Gaza," Abed Rabbo said.

He did not elaborate, but Palestinian officials said they would present proof of Mossad involvement at a news conference on Sunday.

Sharon's allegation of a link between al Qaeda and the Palestinians marked a new stage in his equation of Israel's battle against militants leading a two-year-old uprising for statehood to the U.S.-led global war against terrorism.

Israel has named al Qaeda as prime suspect in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya last week that killed 13 Kenyans and three Israelis and a failed attempt to shoot down with missiles an Israeli airliner taking off nearby.

The United States blames al Qaeda, a multinational Islamic fundamentalist network, for the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said Abed Rabbo's comments were part of an attempt by Palestinian officials "to exonerate themselves from the allegations they are collaborating and participating with terrorists."

The Israeli leader said on Thursday that Osama bin Laden's organization had established a presence in Palestinian-ruled areas of Gaza and in Lebanon, aiming to attack Israel. He gave no further details in his comments at an Israeli media lunch.

"It is a big, big, big lie to cover (Sharon's) attacks and his crimes against our people everywhere," Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told reporters at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"There are certain elements who were instructed by the Mossad to form a cell under the name of Al Qaeda in the Gaza Strip in order to justify the assault and the military campaigns of the Israeli occupation army against Gaza," Abed Rabbo said.

He did not elaborate, but Palestinian officials said they would present proof of Mossad involvement at a news conference on Sunday.

Sharon's allegation of a link between al Qaeda and the Palestinians marked a new stage in his equation of Israel's battle against militants leading a two-year-old uprising for statehood to the U.S.-led global war against terrorism.

Israel has named al Qaeda as prime suspect in a suicide bombing at a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya last week that killed 13 Kenyans and three Israelis and a failed attempt to shoot down with missiles an Israeli airliner taking off nearby.

The United States blames al Qaeda, a multinational Islamic fundamentalist network, for the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington.

Raanan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, said Abed Rabbo's comments were part of an attempt by Palestinian officials "to exonerate themselves from the allegations they are collaborating and participating with terrorists."

So it's not enough that that most devious of terrorist duos - Mossad/CIA - are responsible for 9/11, Bali, and Mombasa - now it seems they're even creating fictional Al Qaeda cells in Gaza.

Clearly for irrational Islamo-apologists/conspiracy addicts like jack sludd, the fact that Al Qaeda itself has proudly acknowledged their involvement in the above-mentioned atrocities - through video, audio, and internet messages (including a statement today on 'www.mojahedoon.net' boasting that Al Qaeda had set up operations in Palestine - despite all this far more tangible proof, our crack team of groovy cyber-sleuths continue to ignore the truth and instead play 'zap the zionists'.

So tell me boys - if you can pull yourselves away from your comic books long enough - do you really see Al Qaeda as such a squeaky-clean, victimised, and vulnerable group of good guys? If we follow your revisionist history, Osama and his merry band of martyrs are completely innocent of any act of intolerance or aggression?

Please confirm that this is how you see it - just so that I confirm my ongoing suspicion that you are completely looney.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/07/1038950239070.htmlthe mass media? the admission bin Laden tape is an obvious fake, with a fat short stand in. The latest bin Laden audio has been described as as 95% certain fake by a Swiss hi-tech company. Where do you get your Al-Qaeda exalts stuff? Thru the main media? Don't be so dippy. I'm not pro-Islamist by any means, but in the fight between opposames you got to look at both sides' viewpoints. Israel created Hammas after all. I hold no particular brief for Arafat - in Sharon's eyes he's pure patsy the killing goes on in all their names (and ours too, if we don't put an end to it) http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/07/1038950239070.html

The fact that you need to characterise the issues as 'conspiracy' [a word, that although still has its meaning, has become debased by those who can't stand the fact that they are lied to] and your use of the words 'Islamo-apologists' show you to be an irrational racist.

'Al Qaeda itself has proudly acknowledged their involvement in the above-mentioned atrocities' - well what were they going to do, ask Mossad to do their publicity for them?!?

You should try to learn to read peter, and after that take a simple course in semantics and logic - that way you will be able to tell that black is not white, can never be white even though lots of people both want it to be and continually tell you so, and that however you twist words the facts remain for you to explain - something you seem not yet to have done.

Fed up as I am of giving remedial history lessons and totally bored of doing research for those who refuse to look from behind the sofa - I can only say that there is wealth of info available for those who activly seek it rather that lie back and passivly recieve it.

And if the internet is such a debased medium peter why do you continue to pollute it with your childish tantrums when faced with something you don't understand?

I realized this is about 5 years after the fact. However, I did come across this webpage, so for those who may end up like me, I would like to post the following comment. The above link is from a website where I found the following excerot (its from the article claiming Israel "nuked" Beirut a second time):

"Despite the fact that Lebanon has no major oil reserves, this beautiful country had a very special role to play in the new "Greater Israel", with a major clue being Beirut's sixties reputation as the Paris of the Middle East. Back then it was a stunningly beautiful secular city, with pristine white beaches and a night club on every corner. In a single word, Beirut was drawn in on Zionist plans as "headquarters" for the Jewish criminal elite, who had absolutely no intention of getting their manicured hands dirty in the eastern desert oilfields. Like Roman Emperors of old, the criminal elite intended to sit by the beach eating bunches of ripe grapes, and then as dusk fell, humbly consult their Talmuds to see exactly how many small Lebanese boys and girls they were allowed to defile and sodomize during the long warm night ahead. As you might expect, the Talmud imposes no bag limit at all. All non-Jews [Goyim] were and still are available for the unrestricted sexual pleasure of the Jewish conquerors, a religious 'law' that, according to sworn witness statements, indicted war criminal Ariel Sharon later enforced more than two dozen times in the Lebanese Shatila and Sabra refugee camps, when he eagerly unzipped his flies and brutally sodomized helpless screaming children held down by his fellow criminals."

If that doesn't sound like virulent and open Anti-Semitism, I don't know what does. The Talmud, the basis of Jewish law, enforces the harshest punishments on sodomy. Additionally, most of Lebanon was and is not considered part of Greater Israel. Furthermore, from an academic standpoint, the article cites "sworn witness statements" yet does not link to them or provide any information on their legitimacy,

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but please do not cite as fact things that you read from an openly Anti-Semitic website. It is clearly misguided and false, and does nothing to further an intellectual discussion,

Anti-semite == everyone not submitting to the wishes and wants of jews.

Previous commentor is good example of jewish logic.

"The Talmud, the basis of Jewish law, enforces the harshest punishments on sodomy. "

Yes, but what is the definition of sodomy according to the jewish Talmud? Lets be academic and go straight to the source.

Sanhedrin 54b:

"Rab said: Pederasty with a child below nine years of age is not deemed as pederasty with a child above that. Samuel said: Pederasty with a child below three years is not treated as with a child above that. What is the basis of their dispute? — Rab maintains that only he who is able to engage in sexual intercourse, may, as the passive subject of pederasty throw guilt [upon the active offender]; whilst he who is unable to engage in sexual intercourse cannot be a passive subject of pederasty."

Limit for male children is nine years and one day and for females three years and one day. Anything below that can be fucked without it being punishable.

You see, he wasn't lying to you!

"Additionally, most of Lebanon was and is not considered part of Greater Israel."

According to Theodor Hertzl Eretz Israel extends from Nile to Euphrates and to the fotos of the mountains of Turkey. It pretty much covers whole of Lebanon. I'm sorry I don't have time to bother for sources.